Germany's National Circular Economy Strategy adopts a strategic vision focused on reducing the consumption of primary raw materials. This approach is guided by the proposal from the International Resource Panel, under the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), which sets a global target of 6-8 tonnes of raw material consumption per capita per year by 2050.
The strategy considers every stage of the cycle: product design, material selection, production, maximising the use phase and, finally, reuse and recycling. It aims to prevent waste from being created in the first place. This can be achieved through smart product design, efficient manufacturing, extended product lifespans, easier repairability and maximising the recycling of all materials.
IFAT Munich is the world’s leading trade fair for environmental technologies.
It is a solution platform, a networking event and a knowledge hub, and brings together the key international industry representatives from politics, business and science. Find out about cutting-edge solutions for water, recycling and circularity, with a strong focus on innovations with a global impact.
Decarbonising mobility will leverage efficiency, modal shift, vehicle electrification and a reduced production footprint of vehicles.
With a focus on dismantling, this study looks at steel decarbonisation. This is a priority since steel is the most widely used material in cars and trucks and the second-largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in vehicle manufacturing.
It recommends establishing a new commercial standard which accounts for improved shredded scrap quality, thereby increasing its market value and benefiting the entire value chain. This added value creation could also help limit the export of ELVs outside the EU, which poses multiple concerns, including safety issues and the loss of strategic materials critical for European industry resilience.
The Automotive Circularity Platform (ACP) is a pilot open ecosystem linking collectors of end-of-life automotive materials with users of high-quality secondary materials. It enhances transparency, enables efficient material separation and supports open-market trading.
As a technical enabler for automotive end-of-life recycling, it will support the implementation of the End-of-Life Regulation and drives recycling, regulatory compliance and supply chain resilience.
SUM 2025 aims to promote more continuous interaction and collaboration across fields, encouraging sustained, multidisciplinary dialogue and strategic partnerships.
INEC, a leading think tank on issues related to the preservation of natural resources, has published its European Resource Programme.
It defines ways to preserve natural resources, focusing on six resources that will be crucial for energy, the economy and the environment: water, wood, li-ion batteries, permanent magnets, copper and building materials.
The Circular Economy package has merely resulted in measures targeting consumers rather than authorities. Positive initiatives such as the digital product passport aside, this vision of the circular economy is not sufficiently integrated into decarbonisation goals. INEC's realistic measures, the result of broad debate between stakeholders, aim to transform the economy and make it genuinely circular.
This publication contains the results of over 74 projects completed as part of the Circular Ecoinnovation Programme between 2017 and 2023. The programme, managed by Ihobe, the environmental management agency of the Basque Government’s Ministry for Economic Development, Sustainability and the Environment, drives ecodesign, circular economy demonstration and strategic ecoinnovation in Basque companies.
The market, commercial, economic, technical or environmental feasibility of each project has been graphically included in each datasheet.
See also the website listing all the Basque Country's circular solutions to date.
SustainableSolutionsMatch is the first cross-sectoral virtual event empowering European businesses on their path to a sustainable and circular economy. It brings solution seekers and providers together to tackle real challenges and find practical answers.
Whether you're looking for innovative ideas or reliable partners, this event brings solution seekers and providers together to tackle real challenges and find practical answers.
Driven by government support, decarbonisation efforts and technological advancements, electric vehicles – with their lithium-ion batteries – are becoming increasingly common. Electric vehicles produce fewer emissions than combustion engine ones, but fewer is not zero. The emissions they do produce across their lifespan (production, use, recycling) need to be mapped.
Calculating their carbon footprint (the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions that come from the production, use and end-of-life of a product or service) is key and required by the Batteries Regulation (EU) 2023/1542.
This paper looks at the challenges of calculating batteries’ carbon footprint and implementing the relevant obligations for companies introducing batteries into the EU market.
